The Ministry of Trade and Industry has launched a fresh crackdown on gaming operators who are not meeting the set standards, restrictions and rules as mandated by the law governing gaming operations.
The development follows a growing proliferation of rogue gaming practices noticed across the country, a situation that prompted the Ministry of Trade and Industry to suspend numerous gaming operators pending conclusions of targeted inspections.
"It is of the government’s paramount concern that the necessary standards are observed and for the consumers to be protected from unscrupulous practices,” reads part of the statement signed on Tuesday by Trade and Industry Minister Soraya Hakuziyaremye.
According to the statement, all gaming companies operating casinos, slot machines, sports betting, and all forms of lottery must adhere to gaming standards, as stipulated by the law or face legal actions.
The law N°58/2011 of 31/12/2011 governing the gaming activities in Rwanda, provides that besides the fact that only the holders of license are authorized to carry out a gaming activity, they must provide proof of staff social security registration and payments, provide proof or evidence of third party liability insurance and be able to demonstrate that adequate and timely financial records relating to gaming activities are in place.
The law states that license holders must also comply and enforce responsible gaming programme, particularly in identifying and excluding players who are minors, as well as players who may have compulsive and addictive gaming tendencies.
Furthermore, the license holders’ authorized premise must adhere to minimum standards, required, particularly in displaying the license, notes of warning as well as making available rules and odds payable to all visitors.
The law also stipulates that all gaming machines and devices imported by license holder into Rwanda must have an identification plate with required details while it demands security at the gaming premises.
The license holders are also reminded to provide proof of the permission granted by the trade ministry of the premises where gaming activities are carried out.
Failure to abide with gaming operations in line with government’s gaming policy, the Ministry says, could see gaming operators immediately face sanctions, including revocation of license, refusal to renew license, suspension of gaming operation, confiscation of illegal and unauthorized gaming machines and devices and penalised with fines up to Rwf 5 million or 10 per cent of the gaming operator’s annual turnover.
"The Ministry will not hesitate to enforce stern actions, be it on operators, of slot machines, casinos, lotteries, sports betting and internet betting,” the statement further reads.
In April, the Ministry revealed that the law that governs the operations of slot gaming machine business was under review, with fresh regulatory measures largely aimed to designate the time during which such businesses should operate after a number of citizens who have raised concerns that the gaming machines could fuel crime.
As a result, the government has since been reluctant to issue gaming operation licenses to new players who have increasingly shown interest to bring the business in Rwanda